Early returns

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Having won just one game between them last season,

the high school football teams from Estancia and Orange were justifiably

eager to throw themselves into a new campaign as they squared off for a

preseason scrimmage Friday at Newport Harbor High.

So eager, in fact, they began running plays about 10 minutes prior to the

scheduled 4 p.m. starting time.

As it turned out, waiting may have been the more prudent course for the

Eagles, as junior Panther tailback Jeremy Poole took a pitch on the

second play and loped an estimated 70 yards for a touchdown.

It was the last score of the day for Orange’s first string, however, and

Coach Dave Perkins’ Eagles rallied with two TDs to take a lead.

Orange exploited Estancia’s defensive reserves for a 55-yard TD run and a

70-yard scoring bomb to win the unofficial decision. But the late

scoring flurry did little to limit the enthusiasm Perkins expressed over

the final tuneup for his team’s season opener Friday against Magnolia.

“The big thing was how we responded to their first touchdown,” Perkins

said. “We stopped them from there on and we came back and scored a couple

ourselves. We had some young kids in there at the end.”

Perkins dispensed praise for his defense, which forced three turnovers,

as well as some aspects of his offense.

“I was very pleased with our inside running game,” he said. “I thought

(fullbacks) Matt Mueller and Fahad Jahid did a good job running the

ball.

Jahid picked up a team-high 48 yards in five carries, including a

bulldozing 19-yard touchdown run, which ended with the junior recovering

his own fumble in the end zone.

Mueller, a senior, carried seven times for 41 yards, just edging his

sophomore brother Joey, who spearheaded the second-team’s near-touchdown

drive on the final possession of the day with four carries for 40 yards.

Heralded wingbacks Marshall Hendricks and Sean Freeman rushed for 16 and

18 yards, respectively, in five combined carries. Hendricks did catch a

7-yard TD pass from quarterback Kenny Valbuena for the second and final

Estancia score and the Edison High transfer also had a 34-yard punt

return.

Valbuena, sharing time with fellow junior Jeremy Valdes, completed 4 of 8

pass attempts for 62 yards. He had two would-be TD passes dropped by

wide-open receivers.

Valdes completed 2 of 4 for 19 yards and sophomore backup A.J. Perkins (1

for 2 for 4 yards) had his perfect day and a third would-be TD foiled by

yet another dropped ball in the end zone.

“I wasn’t happy that we dropped three touchdown passes,” Dave Perkins

said. “But I thought (Valdes and Valbuena) both played well. I plan to

keep rotating them.”

Additional Estancia highlights were provided by sophomore free safety

Freddy Rodriguez, senior nose guard Josh Veach and junior tight end Danny

Valbuena.

Rodriguez intercepted a deep pass and returned it 50 yards to the Orange

18-yard line. He also broke up another pass and made a big hit on an

incompletion over the middle.

Veach recovered two Orange fumbles, while Danny Valbuena made a 25-yard

reception with a defender draped all over him at the Orange 5 to set up

Estancia’s final score.

The 100-minute affair also provided Newport Harbor coaches a convenient

opportunity to scout their opening-night opponent on their own campus.

And they turned out to take full advantage.